Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Pascal Lamy, says Ghana’s inability to impose tariffs to protect the local poultry industry cannot be blamed on the world body. The WTO provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles (like subsidies and tariffs) to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all. The WTO also provides a legal and institutional framework for the implementation and monitoring of these agreements, as well as for settling disputes arising from their interpretation and application. The Ghanaian market has been flooded with cheap imported chicken from the European Union and the United States, principally because of low tariff regime which encourages dumping of subsidized poultry products from abroad. Statistics indicate that Ghana now accounts for as much as 30 percent of all poultry products imported into the West African sub region from the European Union. Players in the Ghanaian poultry industry argue that these imports of live birds, frozen chicken parts and full chicken are posing serious threats to the local poultry industry. Demand for local poultry has collapsed, threatening the livelihoods of over 1,000 poultry farmers in both small and large-scale poultry farming in Ghana. However, the WTO Director General insists unfavourable domestic policies, with a low tariff regime, have contributed to the continuous dumping of the subsidized poultry products for the EU. He said failure of the Ghana government to come out with policies that will protect the local poultry industry has triggered the import surge of poultry from the EU. Ghana imports almost one third of the EU frozen chicken that goes to Africa. Cameroon, Togo, Senegal and South Africa are among the other nations receiving imported frozen chickens and chicken parts. Mr. Lamy stressed that Ghana's position has further been made hopeless with government deciding not to reduce tariffs on imported poultry. The tax on imported poultry was reduced from 40% to 20% whilst that on rice also came down from 25% to 20%. This was seen by most farmers (poultry and rice) as a reversal of the government's plan and pledge in 2003 to increase tariffs on imported poultry products and rice to boost their production in the country. The European Union, the source of most of the imported chicken provides 43 billion euros to its farmers annually. Mr. Lamy therefore advised the Ghana government to take responsibility for the virtual collapse of the local poultry industry. The WTO Director General is in Accra to attend the African Trade Ministers' meeting.